Business Charge Cards

The Amex Plum benefits start with $200 cash back per $10,000 spent in the first three months, up to $600 for spending $30,000. Plus, whenever you make a payment within 10 days of your statement closing date, you get a 1.5% discount on your charges. You also get several types of insurance, including travel insurance, rental car coverage, and purchase protection. 

Here are the top Amex Plum benefits:

• Rewards: For every $10,000 you spend in your first three months of membership, you’ll get a $200 statement credit. You can earn up to $600 this way.
• Pay early or late: You’ll get a 1.5% discount on your bill when you pay within 10 days of your monthly statement being generated. And you can carry a balance for up to 60 days without paying interest. Just remember that in both cases, you have to pay at least the minimum amount required by the due date.
• Travel accident insurance: You get up to $100,000 for serious injury or death while in transit when you charge a trip to your Amex Plum card. 
• Car rental insurance: You’re covered up to $50,000 if a car you rent with your Plum card gets damaged or stolen. Just refuse the rental company’s insurance to activate your coverage.
• Purchase protection: If something you buy with your Plum card gets stolen or damaged in the first 90 days, you’re covered up to $1,000 per item. There’s an account limit of $50,000 per year.
• Baggage insurance: For lost, stolen or damaged carry-on luggage, you’re covered up to $1,250. For checked baggage, it’s $500.
• Roadside assistance: Amex will pay for up to four roadside dispatch calls per year. You can get up to 10 miles of towing per call as well as winching, jump starts, a tire change, locksmith services, and delivery of up to two gallons of fuel.
• Extended warranty: You get up to one extra year on warranties of five years or less. There’s a limit of $10,000 per item.
• Return protection: If you want to return an item you bought with your Plum card and the store won’t let you, you’re covered up to $300 per item. The maximum benefit is $1,000 per account per year.
• Employee cards: Adding employees as authorized users won’t cost you extra. But you will earn rewards on the purchases employees make with their cards. Plus, you can set custom spending limits for employee cards, freeze individual cards, and receive employee spending alerts online.
• Expense tracking tools: You can download the Amex Spend Manager App to keep track of receipts and manage cards from your phone. And if you have QuickBooks, you can enroll in Connect to QuickBooks. Your Plum transactions will automatically transfer to your QuickBooks every day. You also get a year-end summary of charges. 

Those are the most valuable Amex Plum benefits. There are a few others, including special ticket pre-sales for entertainment and sporting events. But unlike the perks listed above, those don’t come with a clear dollar value.

The best Amex Business Platinum benefits are 75,000 points for spending $10,000 in the first 3 months, 5 points per $1 spent on flights and hotels, and access to 1,200 airport lounges worldwide. Other benefits include trip cancellation and interruption insurance, rental car insurance, and baggage insurance. And there’s a perk that gives 35% of redeemed points back with a selected airline (or any airline for first class and business class flights).

Some Amex Business Platinum benefits aren’t exactly for everyone. Presumably, not every Amex Business Platinum cardholder will take advantage of the 20% discount on flights with the Delta Private Jet program. But all worldwide travelers will enjoy the lack of foreign transaction fees and the complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, which gets you and up to two guests into Priority Pass lounges for free.

The benefits list for Amex Platinum is long, but the card is only worth its $595 annual fee if you use these benefits often. Some of the top American Express Business Platinum benefits include:

Airline fee credit: $200 per year in statement credits for airline charges like baggage fees and in-flight refreshments. Applies to one airline selected by cardholder.

TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit: Statement credit for the cost of applying for TSA Pre-check ($85) OR Global Entry ($100) every 4-4.5 years.

Hotel perks: Staying at one of the 900+ Amex partner hotels provides perks like late checkout, hotel credits and complimentary room upgrades.

Airport lounge access: Access to over 1,200 airport lounges around the world with the American Express Global Lounge collection.

35% redemption bonus: 35% of redeemed points back when used at one selected airline. 35% back on all first class/business class flights regardless of airline.

Trip cancellation and interruption insurance: Up to $10,000 in compensation per covered trip ($20,000 per year) for cancellation or interruption of you or a family member’s travel plans due to accidental injury or illness, bad weather, hijacking, jury duty, or damage to your primary residence.

Rental car insurance: Covers theft and collision damage for the first 30 days of a rental. Coverage is up to $75,000. Must charge the rental to Amex Business Platinum and decline the rental company’s insurance.

Baggage insurance: Up to $3,000 per person per trip if baggage gets lost, stolen, or damaged while traveling. Coverage applies to cardholder, spouse and dependent children under 23. The whole reservation must be charged.

Those aren’t the only Amex Business Platinum benefits. But they are the most broadly useful. Most of the other perks are special experiences without a clear dollar value. For example, there’s preferred seating at concerts. Or, there are services that very few people need, like private jet bookings.

The American Express Plum Card’s credit score requirement is “good” or better. That means you need a credit score of 700+ for a realistic shot at approval. It is possible to get Amex Plum with lower scores, as the good credit range is generally thought to start at 660. But your odds just won’t be great if your score is below 700.

Here’s the lowdown on American Express Plum Card credit scores:

• Personal Credit Scores Are Key. Although Amex Plum is a business credit card, available only to business owners, you’re personally responsible for paying off balances. As a result, Amex considers your personal credit history (along with that of your business credit) when you apply.
• Shoot for 700+. A 700+ credit score will give you the best chances, different people report being approved with a range of scores. @Concorduser says a score in the mid-600s did the trick, for example. And @Fr0zen got the card with a score in the mid-700s. But these are anecdotal reports, and each person’s situation is different, so take them with a grain of salt.
• Other Factors. Amex also looks at your annual revenue, your estimated monthly spending, and the number of years your company has been open.

So you can consider the American Express Plum Card’s credit score requirement to be 700+.

The Amex Business Platinum additional card fee is $0 per year for an additional Green card, $45 per year for an additional Gold card and $300 per year for an additional Platinum card. That’s on top of the annual fee you pay for the primary Amex Business Platinum card. You can get up to 99 additional cards total, whether they’re Green, Gold, Platinum or a mix.

Green and Gold Amex Business cards don’t provide Platinum perks, like free airport lounge access. But they can be used to make purchases, and they will earn rewards for you (the primary cardholder). Regardless of which type(s) of additional cards you decide to add, you can set custom spending limits and freeze specific cards by logging into your account, selecting an employee card, and clicking “Manage Card Settings.”

Here’s how the Amex Business Platinum additional card fees compare:

• Amex Business Platinum Additional Green Card Fee: $0 per year. Green cards earn 2 points per dollar on the Amex Travel website.
• Amex Business Platinum Additional Gold Card Fee: $45 per card. The biggest difference between Green and Gold is that Gold lets you earn 1 more point per dollar on Amex Travel.
• Amex Business Platinum Additional Platinum Card Fee: $300 per year for 5x rewards on hotels and flights booked through Amex Travel, and all Platinum benefits.

It’s worth noting that only the primary Amex Business Platinum card holder can add additional cards. The primary card holder also is responsible for paying all charges made on those cards. But points earned with additional Gold, Green and Platinum cards go to the primary card holder, too. And that will help you save.